EL SEGUNDO HERALD May 24, 2018 Page 7
Privacy Rights
Go Out With Trash
By Rob McCarthy
Strangers rummaging through garbage
cans at the curbside have generated discussion
on social media lately. Residents are
understandably concerned about protecting
their homes from opportunistic thieves lurking
about. Are scavengers who dig through
your barrels breaking the law?
The household trash placed at the curb isn’t
protected by law, but that doesn’t mean it’s
okay to take the contents of the barrel either.
That’s the consensus, based on comments left
at the neighbor-to-neighbor website called
Nextdoor.com. Homeowners lose all rights
over trash when it’s put out at curbside, according
to a U.S. Supreme Court case that
sent a drug trafficker to prison in 1988.
However, the recyclables in the blue barrels
and bins belong to the cities…and removing
bottles and cans is breaking the law. That is
the opinion of several city attorneys in Los
Angeles County and a belief shared by several
residents who took part in an animated
discussion on Nextdoor.com.
Before getting to their comments, here’s
a brief review of the 30-year-old Supreme
Court case back when trash barrels were
metal -- not plastic -- and before recycling
was a common household term.
The justices in a 1988 California case
decided that any right to privacy or from
unreasonable search and seizure is defined by
a homeowner’s property line. If the garbage
cans are on private property, they’re off limits
to police without a search warrant as well as
to scavengers. Since the case was decided,
identity theft has become a huge problem,
giving South Bay residents another reason
for concern.
It is common knowledge,” the justices
wrote, that “garbage left on or at the side
of the public street are readily accessible to
animals, children, scavengers, snoops and
other members of the public.”
South Bay residents posting on the social
media report seeing cars pull up in front of
their houses in daylight and at night. Occupants
of the vehicles get out of the car, lift
the lids on the green and blue trash bins, and
pick through the discards before the garbage
collector arrives. Neighbors say it makes
them nervous knowing that prying eyes are
going through their once-personal property.
One resident found a solution. She places
her green and blue trash bins at the end of
her driveway, so they’re on private property.
She warned the scavengers they were trespassing
and they haven’t come back since
the encounter, she wrote on Nextdoor.com.
Other residents are empathetic to the plight
of the scavengers who come looking for aluminum
cans, glass and plastic bottles they can
redeem for cash. Residents admit to feeling
torn about wanting to help the less fortunate
versus the homeowners’ lack of privacy and
security in plain sight. “They’re just trying to
make a living,” one resident said in a post.”
And frankly, they are recycling stuff [scrap
metal] that would end up in landfills.”
Still, there is a sense of uneasiness among
neighbors who report regular weekly visits
ahead of the garbage collection trucks. Not
even using a shredder to eliminate the risk of
identity theft takes away the feeling that comes
with knowing that remnants of your life are
on public view at the curb. “It’s still oddly
invasive having someone go through your
trash,” one resident wrote on Nextdoor.com.
Some residents said they’re willing to look
the other way when scavengers go through
the recyclables set out at curbside. Others
insist it’s stealing and the loss of revenue
from the redemption of cans and bottles
ultimately will lead to higher trash pickup
rates for everyone.
One resident added that welcoming that
kind of activity would increase property
crimes, including residential burglaries and
other crimes of opportunity committed by
outsiders coming into the city. “I’m just as
worried that these people are also casing
houses, seeing whether you’re home during
the day or night, what you have parked in
your driveway, what’s in your car, etc.,” the
poster wrote. “It’s naive to think someone
who is already stealing wouldn’t take the opportunity
to grab something off your property
-- or worse, load it in their car and leave.”
The Los Angeles County District Attorney
advises residents to shred their unwanted
mail before tossing it into the trash barrel.
Unsolicited offers for credit cards or personal
loans contain sensitive information, including
a person’s name and address that identity
thieves use in their crimes, according to the
DA’s office.
A South Bay legal expert says that privacy
rights are thrown out with the weekly garbage
unless a homeowner takes precautions to keep
prying eyes from seeing what’s inside those
barrels. “Keeping trash bins closer to your
home before a scheduled pickup may offer
less exposure of your personal information
during that time,” said a column about the
subject co-written by Donie Vanitzian, a
mediator based on Marina del Rey. “But as
the [Supreme] court stressed, it is unlikely
anything can prevent other owners -- especially
nosy ones -- from snooping through
your trash bins once they are subject to
public access.”
Vanitzian added there’s little to do to prevent
police and determined snooping neighbors
from getting into your curbside trash and
learning something about you that you’d
prefer to keep hidden. •
SBWIB Honors 35 Fit For Gold
Cadet Graduates at Ceremony
Thirty Five high school and college students
were honored May 17 during the 15th Annual
Fit For Gold Tutoring & Fitness Academy
Graduation Ceremony held at Rogers Park
in Inglewood. The program is operated by
the South Bay Workforce Investment Board
(SBWIB).
Family members, training partners, educators
and local elected officials attended the
ceremony including El Segundo Mayor Drew
Boyles; Gardena Mayor Tasha Cerda; Hawthorne
Councilwoman Olivia Valentine; Inglewood
Mayor James T. Butts, Jr. and Councilman Alex
Padilla; Lawndale City Councilmembers Pat
Kearney and Bernadette Suarez; and Lomita
Mayor Pro Tem Henry Sanchez. State Senator
Steven Bradford was represented by Brenda
Baker, and Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi
was represented by Andrew DeBlock. Centinela
Valley Union High School District Superintendent
Dr. Greg O’Brien also participated in the
awards presentations.
SBWIB Executive Director Jan Vogel opened
the ceremony and thanked the training partners
and business partners that provide financial
support and tutoring. After presenting an inspirational
address, Mayor Butts joined with
Mr. Vogel to present two $500 scholarships
provided by West Basin Water District and the
SBWIB to Cadets Giovanna Gutierrez from
Inglewood Animo Charter High School, and
Imani Bush of Gardena High School.
The Fit For Gold Tutoring & Fitness Academy
is an after-school program that trains high school
seniors to provide homework assistance, nutrition
information and physical fitness activities
to students, grades 3-8, while participating in
36 hours of enrichment and mentoring training
and college – readiness activities.
“The effectiveness of this program is shown
in the fact that of the 98 percent of the students
who complete the program, 90 percent
of them go onto post - secondary education,”
Mr. Vogel said.
Fit For Gold was established in 2003 as an
intervention program to help raise declining
student test scores and reduce the rate of cardio
vascular disease among elementary and high
school ages students living in the SBWIB’s
service area comprised of the cities of Carson,
Gardena, El Segundo, Hawthorne, Hermosa
Beach, Inglewood, Lawndale, Lomita, Manhattan
Beach, Redondo Beach and Torrance. It is
funded through various federal, state, county
and foundation grants.
For further information, call (310) 970-7700
or visit www.sbwib.org
– Source: SBWIB •
“The delicate balance of mentoring someone is
not creating them in your own image, but giving
them the opportunity to create themselves.”
– Steven Spielberg
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Community Briefs from page 2
Smoky Hollow
Specific Plan Update
Tentatively, the El Segundo Planning Commission
was scheduled to take action on the
Smoky Hollow Specific Plan (the Plan) on
May 24, 2018. However, further review and
analysis of the plan and its environmental
impacts will now postpone Planning Commission
action to a later date. The public will be
notified in advance when the Smoky Hollow
Specific Plan is scheduled for a hearing before
the Planning Commission.
For further information or questions, please
contact Paul Samaras, AICP, Principal Planner
at (310) 524-2340 or psamaras@elsegundo.org.
– Source: City of ES
Open Seat on Recreation
and Parks Commission
Becoming a member of the Recreation
and Parks Commission is a great way to
get involved and represent the community
in all areas related to the programs, facilities
and services provided by the Recreation and
Parks Department. The Recreation and Parks
Commission meets on the third Wednesday
of each month at 6 p.m. in the City Hall
Council Chambers. Applications are being
accepted now and or can be downloaded at
the link below and emailed to mjennings@
elsegundo.org or can be obtained by contacting
the City Council’s Office at (310) 524-2300.
– Source: City of ES •